Democrat Lawmakers Scrap Expanded Background Checks For Vermont

On February 23, Breitbart News reported that Democrat lawmakers in Vermont were on the verge of scrapping expanded background checks supported by Michael Bloomberg and Everytown for Gun Safety.

Then, on February 25, State Senator Dick Sears (D-Bennington) said the background check push was done. “Quite frankly,” he said, “it’s dead.”

According to the Burlington Free Press, a version of the bill, to which the background checks were attached, will still go forward but is only expected to contain “a proposed state law that would prohibit gun possession for people with certain types of criminal history.”

This law would basically duplicate existing federal law, but it is also facing opposition from gun rights groups who say the law is unnecessary for the simple reason that a federal statute already exists.

Allen Gilbert, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, said the problem is not a lack of laws but a failure to prosecute criminals based on the existing laws. He said federal prosecutors need to go after people who are in violation of the federal statutes.